Overcoming the nightmares
by Yetichan19
Summary: First step, distract him. Second, surprise him. She tried not let the animalistic sound distract her, nor the fear dominate her. She needed to stay focused; one single mistake could ruin her plan and get her killed. Third, slow him down. Slight GaaSaku.
1. Nightmares, mazes and gloves

_**So yeah, I wrote a new fanfic instead of working on IA... Then again, I couldn't help it, this was bothering me for weeks and I needed to write something that resembled a Gaara/Sakura to get it out of my system.**  
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_**This will be more like a collection of oneshots, in two, maybe three chapters. Updates will be erratic, my exams are coming up. Not sure if this will be romance or friendship, we'll have to see.**_

**_Un-beta-ed, so if there's a beta among my readers horrified by my grammar, ponctuation and whatever else is wrong, you're more than welcome to work out the kinks in this and future chapters. ^^_**

* * *

_She couldn't breathe, distorted arm pinning her to a tree and claws digging into the bark. It was crushing her, her lungs desperately seaking for air while her head was spinning. Dread pooled into her stomach and she could barely keep her eyes open. Was this how she was going to die? The pair of mismatched eyes – one black with inhuman yellow irises, the other cold and jade-colored – had promised her that before their owner mercilessly slammed her into the tree. The metallic taste of blood filled her mouth and spilled over, adding to her discomfort. A low, inhuman and hollow laughter escaped her assailant, before the claws tightened, digging into her flesh and slowly shattering her bones._

Her own screams woke her. She sat up, struggling with her sheets, throat raw and breathing heavily. She shuddered before burying her head in sweaty palms. The dream had been as vivid as the first nights that had followed her encounter with him. Slipping out of her bed, she started towards the small kitchen of the hotel room, mindful not to wake Ino and Chôji, who occupied the other two rooms. Pouring herself a glass of water, she downed it in a series of quick gulps and refilled it. She sat on one of the stools, one leg tucked under her and emeralds wandering towards the balcony window. It was a starry night and she could hear the wind howling outside, sounding exactly like the monster's laughter in her dream. She hadn't had this dream in over a year and she had hoped they wouldn't manifest anymore. Obviously, being in Suna to take the Chûnin exam, nonetheless, didn't exactly help when it came to forgetting traumatic events. Ever since she set out for the Village Hidden in the Sand with her Hokage, her classmates and friends, panic slowly and surely settled in. What if she had to fight against Gaara? Even if she did manage to calm her nerves and her urge to just run the hell away, she still wouldn't stand a chance against him! Her shishou – as observant as ever – had questioned her and, after more than half an hour of constant interrogation and a few nasty remarks, she had gotten the truth out of her. The blonde Kage had then shamelessly laughed at her, reassuring her that not only she could stand up to the redhead if she had to, but he also wouldn't kill her. It would be harmful for the two village's treaty. Not at all convinced, the pinkette had stalked off under the pretense of "examining some rare herbs that only grew on the border of the Fire and Wind countries".

Now here she sat, barely hours away from the second and last test, as unsure and worried as ever. They didn't even know what they had to do for this examination. The first part had been relatively simple, they had to go retrieve some special scrolls scattered around in the desert around Suna and guarded by higher-ranked nin. With Sakura's swift genjutsu and Ino's mind-possessing technique, the two guards had been quickly disabled, allowing Chôji to easily recover the scroll. Inside it, a note congratulating them on their success and indicating the place and time of the next stage, as well as their starting point, "Gate 12". They had spent the rest of the day lounging around the hotel room allocated to them by the executive committee, speculating about their next trial and preparing for it. Taking another sip of her water, Sakura mentally ran over her stuff again, making sure she didn't forget anything. By the time she was done, the rising sun could be seen on the horizon and she decided to start making breakfast. Chôji would appreciate it and they needed to be sated before the examination. Ten minutes later and a groggy Akimichi stepped out of his room, still in pyjamas and tiredly rubbing his eyes, a big smile splayed on his lips. He sat down at the counter and Sakura immediatly set a big bowl of rice in front of him, as well as some tamagoyaki, pickled vegetables and miso soup.

"Gimme a sec' and the fish will be done." she said, also smiling."There isn't a lot of it though, since we're in the desert and all."

"Please, Sakura, don't mention the desert. I've dreamt about sand all night!" came her best friend's exasperated voice from her door. "And to what do we owe the sudden breakfast making? Preparing to become a mom?"

The Yamanaka heir settled down next to her teammate, picking on some vegetables until the pinkette served her as well. She was already dressed in her usual purple attire, hair tied in a loose pony-tail. It had grown too long for her to wear it in a bun. Sakura served her rice as well, before settling down in front of them. Chôji was already half done by the time she picked her chopsticks up.

"There's more, go help yourself when you're done." she told him, before locking eyes with the other girl. "Nothing in particular, just woke up earlier and thought I'd make sure we were physically fit before the exam, seeing as I'm the team's medic and all. Eat your fish and rice, Ino, not just the vegetables."

The blonde scoffed and flung some of her nori towards her, that the pinkette caught and directed towards her stomach. They ate in silence, Chôji and Sakura heading to get dressed once they were done, while Ino did the washing up. By eight o'clock, they were dressed, armed, packed and ready to go.

* * *

The hotel lobby was mostly occupied when they got down, people chattering in almost every corner. The trio spotted the other Genin of Konoha and made a bee-line towards them. Kiba welcomed them with a huge grin.

"Mornin', guys, ready for today's exam?" he excitedly asked – shouted rather. "We're so kickin' ass today, nothing's gonna get between me and my promotion!

Akamaru barked in agreement. In the two years since the first took the exam, the dog had grown to nearly three times it's original size and he wasn't done yet, from what Kiba had told them. In, a year or so, the brunette would probably be able to ride him. Hinata smiled at them, timidly greeting them. She had grown her hair out and had gained some weight which, far from making her fat, brought out her curves. Sakura had to admit she was pretty jealous of her physique. A few Stone-nin slyly glanced towards the Hyûga heiress, but quickly turned away when they met Sakura's and Ino's glares. The poor girl had gotten quite some unwanted and unwelcome attention from mostly shady guys and when Shino and Kiba were too distracted to keep them away, the two girls took care of it.

"So, what are we waiting for?" Ino hissed, searching for someone in charge of the examination. "Shouldn't we get this over with before the heat becomes unbearable?"

As soon as the words left her lips, a Suna Jônin appeared at the entrance and beckoned them to follow him. More of them were waiting for them outside and Sakura was surprised to see Temari among of them. From the sudden outburst of murmurs around her, she supposed that so did her comrades. An elder stepped out from behind the Jônin, telling them that one would guide each team to the arena and their respective gates, as well as update them on what happens next. Sakura's team was set under Temari, much to the pinkette's relief, since she could now discreetly interrogate her about a certain brother that haunted her nightmares and why exactly she hadn't seen him yet. Ino beat her to it, though.

"So you're already a Jônin? That was pretty fast! What about your brothers?"

"They both passed Chûnin last year. Kankurô tried out for Jônin afterwards, but failed, so he's waiting for his next opportunity. As for Gaara... he didn't take it yet." Temari explained, her tone going from rather jovial when speaking about the puppet-master to somewhat reserved when mentioning the sand-wielder.

Sakura suspected there was more to it than him deciding to temporarily put it off, but decided not to push the matter. So did Ino.

"So, what 'bout the exam?" Chôji asked, breaking the awkward silence.

They were going towards the back of the village, closed off by the mountain surrounding Suna. They entered a rather small opening in the wall, that looked a lot like a cave entrace. The pinkette curiously eyed the rock, softly stroking it when she passed. It's soft texture and the coolness under her fingers heavily contrasted with the desert's arid climate. It felt good. Inside, they followed a well-lit tunnel, with oil lamps attached to the walls every five steps. Ino suddered and even Chouji looked tense behind his joyful, chips-munching appearance. The Suna kunoichi strutted on, unperturbed. After a few minutes of silent walking, she finally opened her mouth, her words echoing in the tunnel.

"At the end of this tunnel, we'll end up in front of a maze. You'll have to get through it. Alive, preferably."

"How do you mean? We enter on one side and have to find the exit? Or do we have to get to a specific spot?"

"That's up to you. Once you're in, you're on your own. All the information I'm allowed to give out is that it's a maze, you have five hours to complete it – and it _has_ to be done, there will be no promotion for those who failed, even if they were brilliant – and you're not obligated to finish it as a team. You can separate once you're in, if you prefer."

Temari was determined not to say any more. Sakura watched her back, thoughts miles away. What was the purpose of this exercise? It wasn't survival like when they were in the forest, the alloted time wasn't barely enough to test that. Besides, their first exam seemed more of the survival-type. She supposed it was their wits with that were tested, then, and their nerves. If the maze was covered, they had no chance of getting through it with the help of natural references; no sun, no cardinal points. In the same time, they would be closed up with the other participants, who would use this trial to get rid of competition, as well as all the other traps the examinators have set up. Of that, she was sure. If there was one thing she had learned during her stay in Suna, it was that Sand-nin were very tough on their shinobi, bordering on merciless. She understood the need to work their men and women hard in order for them to become stronger – her shishou was also harsh with her during training –, but bringing them to the edge of death and then letting them fend for themselves... No wonder their shinobi were as gruff as Kankurô and Temari. No, scratch that, they were actually part of the _nice_ people. The dangerous ones were those like Gaara...

Her sudden crash with Chouji's shoulder brought her out of her reveries, hysterical, inhuman laughter and bloodied claws fading away to the recesses of her mind. The brunette shot her a questioning glance, to which she answered with a small smile. Peering over his shoulder, she froze. The tunnel ended in a huge cavern, the top of which was widely open. They seemed to be hundreds of meters under the ground, the blue of the sky barely visible. There were oil lamps attached all around them and she could make out some sort of stands fifteen meters above them, on the rock face, towering above the labyrinth. Said construction proudly stood before them, it's walls as high as Jiraiya-sama's Gamabunta and as wide as four Akimichi Chôza's standing side to side. Temari let them gawk at the construction for a while, before leading them away. They now stood in front of the maze's entrance, with two Suna-nin on each side of the wall and the number 12 written in white on the floor. Sakura loudly gulped, uneasy. Ino's elbow in her side brought her to attention and she followed the blonde's gaze upwards, where a figure was suddenly illuminated. It was one of the elders from the Council.

"Welcome, Genin of the Hidden Villages." he said in a quavering voice. "I believe our faithful Jônin have explained this trial's practical details. We shall now begin the second exam. Good luck to all and come out alive!"

His last words were greeted with cheers, the old man vanishing in the shadow of the stands. Sakura glanced at Temari, who nodded once, before heading towards a staircase opposite of the maze that would probably lead her to the upper levels. Gathering her courage, the pinkette stepped in the maze, followed by her comrades. There was a loud crash and a boulder now blocked their only way out.

"Well, guess that means we won't leave that way!" Ino joked, though her voice lacked strength.

* * *

The lighting in the maze was feeble at best and it was difficult to see. They waited for their eyes to get used to it, noticing that, for now, they could only go straight ahead. Chôji walked in the front, to block any surprise attack, Ino was second so she could help out either him, or Sakura, who was charged with guarding their backs. The pinkette raised her eyes, trying – and failing – to make out familiar figures in the audience. They made a turn to the left, hearts hammering in their ribcages. She was right about the pressure they would be under during their time in the maze. One never knew when an enemy could show up around the corner or a trap might go off under their feet. It was eerily quiet, their steps making entirely too much noise in the kunoichi's opinion.

"Wait!" Ino's whisper was harsh in the silence.

She sniffed the air once, before grabbing her teammate's arm and dragging him back the way they came, gesturing to Sakura to follow. When they were back on their first path, she looked at her bewildered friends.

"Poisonous plants." she explained, rummaging through her backpack. "They only grow near Suna. They're recognazible thanks to the sweet scent they emit, but underneath it is a toxic, odorless poison. It can be lethal if we continuously breathe it in. Aha, found it!"

She victoriously brandished three masks, tossing one to each one of them. "I made these before leaving Konoha, I knew they'd come in handy!" she smiled, satisfied, before sending a taunting wink towards her rival. "You should learn more about your plants, oh almighty medic-nin, you seem to be lacking in the area!"

Sakura snorted, carefully tying the white mask. They headed back and soon found said plants, shyly growing in a small gap between the wall and the floor. The leaves were green and rather plain-looking, the flowers an incredible, pale indigo color, periodically opening to release it's traitorous smell. The rosette crouched in front of it, half-holding her breath, and put on a pair of medical gloves. She cut off a few small, round fruits, as well as a few leaves and petals, storing them in three different vials that she gingerly put away, for further examination. Ino rolled her eyes and Chôji fidgeted uncomfortably, but she ignored them both. It was for the sake of her studies, they could wait a few minutes.

They only took off their masks once they had made three more turns and were now trying to detect any unusual noise that might help them find their way. They were in the maze for more than forty minutes and had yet to come across enemies or traps. The lack of obstacles was becoming frustrating, an unwelcome feeling to their already tense party. Barely had she finished the thought that a huge stone loudly crashed on them. Chôji jumped towards Ino, arms encircling her waist, to shove her out of the boulder's way, while Sakura unconsciously shot her fist forward, smashing it to pieces. When silence settled back again and the dust cleared, she looked at the duo at her feet.

"Are you guys okay?" she asked, massaging her sore hand.

The Akimichi heir removed himself off his teammate, sending her a wavering smile, while the other kunoichi just nodded, dazed.

"You're bleeding, Sakura." she finally said.

Said teenager dismissed her worries with a wave of her healthy hand and proceeded to bandage the wounded one. She preferred not using chakra, for fear of it beeing seen in the dim passage.

"Looks like I don't owe you anymore, Ino-pig."

The blonde finally smiled at that, putting on a superior look. "Pff, as if! Chôji was the one to save me, you just showed off, Forehead!"

They both snickered, the sole male of their team shaking his head, a small smile on his lips. He could imagine Shikamaru grumbling «troublesome women» from wherever he was watching the exam from.

They went on for what seemed like an eternity when finally, the road split into two distinct directions. It was the first time it happened and they all looked at each other, worried. Which way now? Both passages looked exactly the same, as gaunt and as uninviting as the other. No noise came from either, no smell, no breeze. Chôji frowned, Ino started tapping her fingers on her crossed arms and Sakura bit her lip.

"I say we go right."

"Left side looks good to me."

The two girls who had spoken in the same time looked at each other, for once unwilling to bicker. It was also useless to ask the other on the reasons of their choice, since they knew they didn't particularly have any.

Sakura sighed. "We should sit down and talk this through. Make a plan."

Once settled, the young apprentice gravely looked at her friends. "I don't have anything to base my assumptions on, but here's what I think, nonetheless: I doubt we need to find a way out of this place. If we think about it, our only way out is they way we, and the other teams, came in. And I'm pretty sure they closed off all the gates. Which means that what we're looking for is in this maze." she explained, eyeing both of them to make sure they were listening. "Probably in the middle, it wouldn't make much sense to put it elsewhere. Both these roads seem to be going in that direction, so I say we split up."

Silence ensued from her words, before Ino shot up. "There's no way in hell that'll happen! Unless you haven't noticed, we're an odd number, so one of us will end up alone! And who knows what else there is in this place... we could get killed!"

Sakura, who had anticipated her reaction waited for the end of her tirade before speaking up again. "Listen, I know it's not the best choice we have... okay, it's probably actually stupid, but we have to give it a try. We've been in here for two hours already and still are pretty much lost. We can cover more field if we separate. You brought the emergency signals I gave you, right? Well, the moment one of us finds the place, just shoot it and we can join up."

She still looked very unconvinced, but it was Chôji who spoke this time. "What if one of the roads turns out to be a dead-end?"

"Turn back and try to catch up. How about this, every time there's an intersection, draw a small leaf at the foot of the wall of the road you took. Make it simple and not too visible, we don't want enemies on our tails."

"Suppose we agree, which I personnally don't, how do we split up? I mean, I'm not going anywhere alone, not in this place at least. You're the medic, you need to be in a team and we can't just leave Chôji alone and without medical support!"

Sakura's smile was bitter. "You pretty much pointed out the teams. You and Chôji and me by myself." she hurried on before the florist could interrupt her. "Most of your techniques require for another person to be present and Chôji needs someone to look out for him, as in a medic to back him up. He can watch over you and you know enough basic medical ninjutsu to get trough this. Besides, you guys are a team, splitting you up would only break up your dynamics. I can handle myself and well... us, members of Team 7 were never known for our teamwork, even with Kakashi-sensei's constant preaching."

She stood up, ignoring the blonde's pitying look. Her team was a sore topic she didn't like to discuss and they both knew Sakura had always envied the bond between the members of other teams, especially those of Team Asuma. Dusting off her clothes, she extended a hand out to help both of them up, forcing a reassuring smile on her lips. Ino wrapped her in a tight hug and Chôji squeezed the had he was still holding.

"We'll be fine. Shishou is watching, as is Shikamaru. They won't let anything really bad happen to us. Could you imagine the trouble that lazy bum would be in if he had to give bad news to your parents?" she smiled when she felt the blonde chuckle against her and when the boy's eyes lit up in amusement.

"Yeah, I suppose Tsunade-sama would patch us up if anything happened..." she admitted, releasing her longtime rival. "You take care, now. Last one at the finish line takes the others out for dinner!"

"With seconds and thirds, please." Chôji quipped, making both girls laugh.

They each took their roads while the mood was still somewhat jovial. A brick wall came up behind the pinkette and from the sound of it, the same happened to Chôji and Ino. A soft whimper was heard and Sakura was already contemplating on punching through the wall that separated them.

"We're fine Sakura, just surprised, go on ahead." Ino's voice weakly filtered over the thick walls, as if she had read her mind.

Nodding to herself, Sakura started walking, desperatly trying to calm her racing heart. She was alone now, nobody to rely on, nobody to get her out of any trouble she might come across. Completely alone. Increasing her pace, she could feel the familiar sting of tears in her eyes.

_'No crying, this was your brilliant idea, so now face the consequences! Calm down, think and find a way out of this hellish place!'_ she mentally scolded herself.

Her hand slowly slipped towards her kunai holster, forefinger slipping into the ring of the weapon she was so familiar with. Taking it out, she firmly gripped it into her left fist, more out of comfort than a real need for protection. She took a deep breath and slowed down, trying to make as little noise as possible when advancing. She could do this. She was the Hokage's apprentice, one of the legendary trio's student and said medical genius was currently watching her from somewhere up over her head, she couldn't dissapoint her. Failing was not an option. Failing meant bringing dishonor to her village, her mentor, her team and herself. She was done being weak. She was done with being saved and protected. She could and she _would _do this. She'd pass this exam with flying colors and make everyone proud! Haruno Sakura would leave Suna with the title of Chûnin!

... That is, if a wall of spikes didn't pierce through her entire body first. She tumbled forwards, the metal spikes biting into the skin of her thigh, left side and shoulder. Collapsing on the ground, she watched the rods slowly retract, horrified. She almost ended up as a brochette! _'What is it with these crazy people? These killing methods are ancient and freakin' gore, not to mention inhuman!'_

Trying to catch her breath, she suddenly stilled, emeralds snapping to her right. She was in the middle of an intersection and there, barely a few feet away, stood a familiar figure. If it hadn't been for the soft slithering noise, she wouldn't have noticed him, as motionless as he was. But she did and she could hear her heart speeding up, her blood pulsing in her ears and a slow shaking taking hold of her body. He looked like a nightmare come true. He _was _a nightmare come true. There, clad in brown, gourd strapped to his back, arms crossed, hair the color of blood and eyes deadly cold, stood Sabaku no Gaara, her biggest and worst fear.

He wasn't moving, wasn't even blinking, yet she was terrified. Her muscles were locked in place, pinning her to the ground, helpless. _I'm going to die_. The poisonous thought formed in the back of her mind, slowly creeping through her brain and body. It was inevitable, she couldn't face him, couldn't stand up to him. The certainty of it glued her in place, numbed her every sense, shrinking her world to the point where all she could see, all she knew existed was the monstruous apparition in front of her. _Someone, save me_.

He took one step forward. The veil fell, she let out a shrill scream, jumping to her feet and away from him. Still frightened beyond mesure, she clasped her hands together, desperately trying to dispel the illusion she knew wasn't there. His expression never changed, but she could feel his aura become more menacing, filled with contempt. _Please don't kill me_.

Somewhere in her anguish-filled mind, a small voice told her he must have been disgusted. There she stood, helpless, frightened and pathetic, unable to even wield the kunai limply hanging in her left hand, to _pretend_ she was brave enough to defend her own life. Even the prey sometimes turned against the predator when they were cornered. She just stood there... _You can't kill me_.

He took yet another step closer and her body was wracked with a new wave of terror. Here it came, the sand slipping out of the gourd, inching towards her unmoving body, ready to wrap around it, fill her mouth and shut out her cries, before crushing her entire form, turning her into a bloody pulp. Unwilling to see her own demise, she closed her eyes, clenched her fists and held her breath, hoping he would make it as painless as possible.

_'Open your eyes, girl! How do you expect to avoid an attack if you close them?'_ Her mentor's words rung so loud in her head that for a moment, she thought the woman had truly uttered them. _'Are you truly this dumb or do you do it just to get on my nerves? People praise your intelligence so own up to it, use your head!'_

_'Sakura, believe me, if you ever meet up with Gaara during the Chûnin examination, you are more than ready to stand up to him and get out of it alive. You should give my training more credit!'_

She slided away from the attack at the last moment, barely avoiding the sand tendrils that were clearly aiming for her head. Rolling on the floor, she stood up, muscles at the ready, her emerald gaze burning with newfound determination. Her shishou was right. Her ninjutsu and her techniques overall might have been lacking compared to the destructive power of her opponent, but she wasn't helpless. She had many advantages on him and more than one trick up her sleeve. Gaara was impassive, level-headed and bloodthirsty, pretty much all of his techniques based on the sand he commanded. She, on the other hand, was much more versatile. If she couldn't beat him, she would have to slow him down enough to be able tu run away and that, she could do.

_'First step, distract him.'_ She started forming the seals, two clones appearing by her side. They all charged at him, kunai in hand. A wave of sand intercepted them. Two disappeared, the third one replaced by a log. Two more clones appeared, one in front of him, the second behind, while a third Sakura fell on him from above. All three disappeared. Suddenly, a flurry of leaves appeared around him, cutting into his armored body, followed by an army of pink haired kunoichi, throwing themselves at him. He sent waves and waves of sand at them, but their numbers never thinned. Then it clicked: the girl didn't have enough chakra to create so many clones. Irritated, he dispelled the illusion, turning his deadly jades towards her. A low, menacing growl escaped his lips.

_'Second, surprise him.'_ She tried not let the animalistic sound distract her, nor the fear dominate her. She needed to stay focused; one single mistake could ruin her plan and get her killed. Taking a deep breath, she ran at him at full speed, straight into the new wave of sand flying her way. If the height of it was any indication, he was _very _pissed. She drew her hand back and punched with all her might, chakra exploding when her fist collided with the wall of sand. Behind, for the first time, Gaara's expression changed, eyes widening with disbelief and his tightly crossed arms falling to his sides. A tentative smirk crossed her lips.

_'Third, slow him down.' _Before he could recover, she leaped towards the wall, cutting the wire above their heads and using it to swing away from him. Already, he gathered his sand, ready for another attack. She formed new seals in the same time as six empty water bottles hit the floor around the Suna-nin. Six shapeless water blobs hung in the air for half a second, before pouring on the redhead. Gaara blinked, trying to mold the sand-turned-mud at his feet. A ferocious shout tore from his mouth, but by then, Sakura had already thrown a smoke bomb on the floor.

_'Fourth, run for your life!' _She sprinted away without looking back and as fast as her legs would carry her. She was blessing her shishou for having shown her her element and giving her tips on useful Suiton techniques. Hopefully, by the time his sand would dry, she'd be far, far away from him. Because from the sounds he was making when she left, he would be merciless towards those that crossed his path.

After about twenty minutes of constant running, she finnaly slowed down, before stopping altogether. Back pressed to the stone wall, she let herself slide on the floor, legs spread and hands limp beside her. She closed her eyes, regulating her breath and listening to every sound around her. A few minutes later, she took out her last bottle of water, sipping from it. She then proceeded to demolish her small reserves of rice balls, prepared that morning. If her calculation were right, she had a little less than two hours to find her way. The opening in the cavern didn't help the least bit, she couldn't see the sun and the air never seemed to change in the maze. Playing with the bottle cap, she suddenly remembered her injuries. None of them was too deep and they were starting to coagulate, but she would have to disinfect them soon. Now was out of the question, she feared the smell of antiseptic would attract other enemies and she would rather not use up any more chakra than she had during her fight, especially knowing that the redhead was on the loose and probably out to tear her apart. Moistening a cloth, she roughly cleaned the cuts up, before taking one last gulp and standing up to leave. One look towards the stands had her stopping, the metaphorical lightbulb lighting up in her head. The Council members were the ones to declare and congratulate the winners, right? And taking the stairs down from that high up wasn't an easy task for such old men, so the «finish line» as Ino had called it, had to be somewhere near them. Maybe even right under where the old man had given the introduction speech. Which meant, she'd have to make a turn on the right soon and continue straight ahead. Proud of her reasoning, she set out again.

To say the rest of her journey had been uneventful would have been a lie, but it still wasn't near as stressing or as difficult as her fifteen-minute fight with the jinchuuriki. After her meeting the demon and surviving him, the maze didn't seem nearly as gloomy, nor was the mood as creepy. She got used to the lighting, the two traps that had come up she avoided this time and the Rock team she encountered had been disciplined with a few well-aimed, chakra-laden punches. She was slowly but surely approaching her destination, excitement bubbling under her calm demeanour. She wasn't sure she did good enough to become a Chûnin, nor did she know what the elders and Kages based their decision to promote them on, but she really wanted out. Closed and suffocating areas weren't meant for Leaf-nin who, though growing up in a rather cramped village, still had huge expanses of forests around to feel free. She loved running, bouncing from tree to tree with the air whipping at her face. Here, she felt claustrophobic. No wind, no light, no natural noises or any fauna, it was so... sterile. She huffed, blowing at a pink lock that rudely fell before her eyes. She needed to cut her hair sometime soon, it was getting too long and was blocking her sight more often than not.

... She also needed to stop spacing out, she grumbled, hearing the clash of weapons barely a second before she turned around the corner. She stopped, holding her breath and listening intently, praying to whatever deity currently present that she had went unnoticed. From the sound of it, there were more than two fighters. She glanced upwards, the stand almost above her and cursed. She'd have to get through the fight to get to her destination. Gripping her kunai, she crouched and peered around the wall. Surprise froze her in place. There, barely a few feet away, five of her comrades and friends were facing two Suna-nin. Gaara and Kankurô.

Shino was busy fending off two of Kankurô's puppets, a third one laying dismantled on the floor not far away, curtesy of Chôji, currently being healed by a worried Ino, who glanced every other while towards the other fighters. She looked tired and dishevelled but her control never wavered. The younger Sand sibling was up against Akamaru and Kiba, both relentlessly attacking him, but she could see the signs of exhaustion and quite a few deep injuries on both of them. The redhead seemed as impassible and unharmed as ever. The only sign of his efforts were the tightly clenched knuckles and the evident scowl. Sakura searched the missing member and her heart jumped to her throat when she found her, limply hanging against a wall, hands bound by sand above her. The scene was painfully familiar... _'She's breathing!'_ the kunoichi noted, somewhat relieved. No wonder Kiba looked as savage and Shino as tense as they did. Ino was also throwing worried looks towards the Hyûga heiress, most likely wanting to help her, but five opponents and two vicious fights separated the two girls. The blonde bent forward, murmuring something in her teammate's ear, who was slightly frowning. He shook his head and Ino's expression turned desperate. The rosette didn't know what to do. She could see the path continuing beyond the seven nin and the dog, before making a turn to the left, most likely to where they had to go. The Sand siblings were fiercely guarding the way.

_'What the hell do I do?'_ she wondered, eyes scanning the fight. She wasn't used to battling side by side with any of them, she knew she'd be more of a nuisance than anything if she were to step in. Then again, Hinata needed to be delivered and maybe her arrival would provide some distraction and give her friends the edge they needed. Maybe Gaara would even change targets and come at her, giving the others a chance to flee. _'Bad idea, very bad idea!'_ If her clash with him had helped her surpass the terror she felt everytime she thought of him, she was still more than scared of him and would rather have half the village backing her up if they were to fight. _'Think Sakura, think, there's got to be a way!'_ She couldn't use chakra to run up the sides of the walls. She had tried more than once during her journey, but failed miserably, slipping before she could take more than three steps. Besides, saving herself and leaving the other to fend for themselves would have been truly cowardly. But did the walls reject chakra or was it only wall-walking? If she tried punching through it, would it crumble and bury her friends and opponents or would she just break her hand? Was it even a good idea to start breaking things?

_'Well, there's that saying «nothing ventured, nothing gained»... Or was it «he who dares, wins»? Either way, if this doesn't work I'll both look ridiculous and get my ass handed. Here goes nothing!'_ She breathed in a few times, calming her nerves and stood up. In a flurry of red and pink, Sakura rounded the corner, hurling towards Hinata, her favorite warcry filling the maze.

"SHANNARO!" she pulled her hand back, fist glowing blue. From the corner of her eyes, she saw the fight stop, Ino flinch and grab Chôji's arm to pull him away, while Kiba and Akamaru retreated, both pale. Even Gaara looked tense. She ignored all of their precautions and focused on the pale-eyed unconscious kunoichi and more precisely, on the wall near her hands. She punched with all her might. Rock gave way in a loud explosion and satisfaction flooded the rosette. She didn't stop however, grabbing her now freed friend by the waist and unceremoniously tossing her over her shoulder. She adeptly dodged the flying debris, looking for the opening she created through the dense cloud of dust.

"Come on!" she shouted. She knew her companions would understand her order and jumped forward, towards the barely visible opening. The dust hadn't cleared yet, when she felt a sickeningly familiar grip on her ankle, knocking her over. A strangled cry escaped her lips and she turned around, protecting Hinata from the fall. Her back and head hit the ground. Hard. Black spots dancing in front of her eyes, she turned frightened eyes towards the figure becoming taking shape in the clearing dust. Jade clashed with emerald and Sakura hugged the unconscious girl in her arms tighter, half turning to keep her out of harm's way. Sand rose and her vision was suddenly filled with green.

"Konoha Senpû!"

The redhead took a leap back, eyes focusing on the spandex-clad Leaf-nin that had interfered. Never in her life had Sakura been as happy to see Lee as she was now. The two males silently stared at each other, Gaara frowning and Lee with one hand behind his back, the other raised in front of him. There was a moment of silence during which all of the dust finally cleared and then suddenly, both shinobi straightened. Gaara turned and walked away, while Lee faced her with a brilliant smile. She looked around her, still a bit dazed. There was a huge gap in the wall with rocks all around them. Behind her stood the elders of the Council, the Kages and her mentor. The first ones looked rather displeased with the damage, the others mildly surprised and her shishou wore a small smirk. Tenten and Ino came to relieve her of Hinata and Shizune immediatly left the Godaime's side to check on her. She grabbed Lee's outstretched hand and let him pull her to her feet, wincing as the backlash of her punch rippled through her boy. The older boy sent her a concerned look and only then did she notice that her bandaged right hand was soaked with blood. She waved away his concern, smiled at him, theb turned to inspect the other people present. She was happy to see that all of Konoha's representants had made it through, as well as one team from Sand and a Genin from Rock – the one she had gone the easiest on earlier. Shizune had regained her place behind the blonde Kage and Hinata was currently smiling at a very concerned Kiba and a grumpy Shino, assuring them she was fine. Kankuro and Gaara stood near their sister, a few feet behind the elders. She seemed somewhat distracted, but the boys were both staring at her; Kankurô with an amused smile and Gaara impassively.

The sound of a man clearing his throat brought her attention back to the people in front of her. "I hereby declare the second examination of the Chûnin selection closed." he said amidst thundering cheering and claps.

* * *

The lobby was noisy for once, but not as much as the hotel's restaurant. The tables had been pushed against the walls, the middle of the room filled with excited, newly promoted Chûnin recounting their adventures in the maze. Teachers were proudly nodding, younger shinobi listening to every word with deep admiration and parents loudly praising their children. Kiba was gathering quite some attention from the local ladies with his heroic fight stories, charming smiles and half-open, white shirt. Shino was talking to Hinata, who was wearing a pretty, indigo dress. Behind her, Ino was surrounded by many men from different countries, all drawn to her long, bare-shouldered black dress, hyptnotizing blue gaze and impish smile. She tossed her hair around her shoulder and two other men joined the circle. Chôji was seated at one of the tables, happily eating away after all their ordeals. Sakura smiled at them from her seat, back against the bar and sipping at her iced tea. Even she had changed out of her daily outfit, donning a black skirt and red, sleeveless top for the occasion, tying her shoulder-length hair into a neat ponytail. She was still considering cutting it. A few stools away sat Lee and Tenten, animatedly chatting, their drinks forgotten on the counter. Biting her straw, Sakura quietly giggled. She was extremely happy and couldn't wait to get back to Konoha to tell her parents that, yes, their daughter had finally become a Chûnin! And from what Shizune had told her after the announcement of her promotion and on their way back to the village, she had impressed many with her strength, variety of techniques used and fast-thinking. Even if the Suna elders weren't pleased with the prospect of rebuilding a whole stone wall. A creak on her left informed her that someone had just joined her and and she glanced at the stranger, surprised to meet a handsome brunette. He seemed pretty familiar, but she couldn't remember where she had met him. He turned to her and she was awarded with a breathtaking smile, her thoughts jumbling in her mind.

"You were pretty impressive down there." he said in a low, gruff voice, taking a gulp of his drink.

Sakura turned her gaze away, fighting the blush that wanted to creep up to her cheeks. "Thank you." she muttered, grateful for not stuttering.

"Never thought you'd end up fighting twice against my brother and best him both times." he added, another elvish smile gracing his lips.

The kunoichi snapped up her eyes at that, all girly shyness forgotten. "Your brother?" she asked thickly, suddenly remembering why the stranger felt so familiar. "Are you... Kankurô-san?"

The Sand nin chuckled. "You didn't recognise me? Well, yeah, figures, without the paint and the hood."

"Why are you here?" she asked dryly, all friendliness forgotten.

He sent her a bemused look at her change in demeanour, but didn't comment on it. "I came to congratulate you, obviously. You're the talk of the village, you know. The small, pink-haired Leaf nin that destroyed both a stone wall and Gaara's sand with barely a punch. Suna won't be forgetting you anytime soon. Especially Gaara..."

"What do you mean?"

"Yeah well, let's say he was the most taken aback among us all. You got him pretty good the first time you fought and besides, with that Suiton you threw at him? Now pretty much everybody knows his weakness and, well, he's not all that thankful for that."

She stared at him with wide, disbelieving eyes. "You mean he's holding a grudge?" she exclaimed, a hint of fear in her voice. "He can't kill me, it would start another war!"

"That's not what I meant, don't worry. He knows as well as any of us how fragile our truce is and wouldn't break it. Besides, you're that Naruto brat's friend right?" he shrugged as if that explained everything, but Sakura was suddenly feeling nauseous.

She set her glass down as well as a few coins and slid from her stool. "I'm feeling a bit tired tonight so I'll leave early if you don't mind?"

Without waiting for an answer, she left the room, not even glancing back and hurried to the elevator, anxiously pressing her floor's button. Once the door's closed, she leaned against the wall, bringing one hand to her forehead. She hadn't seen the youngest Sand sibling since the end of the exam and had even managed to forget about him. Damn Kankurô and his need to mess her relaxing evening up! She couldn't wait to be out of Suna and on her way back to the safety of her home...

She slipped her key in the door, intent on entering the relative safety of her room and ordering some food. She'd stay in that evening and watch some stupid soap opera, far away from Sand shinobi and homicidal, vengeful redheads. Locking the door behind her, she shook her sandals off and entered the living room, heading towards the phone. She stilled. There was someone else beside her in the appartment and it couldn't be either Ino nor Chôji. She was about to reach for the vase on the chest next to her, intent on using it to distract the intruder while she pummeled them down to the floor below, when the light was suddenly turned on. She whipped around, ready to attack, only for her fighting spirit to abandon her.

Gulping thickly, she asked in a shaky voice. "Why are you here?" she hesitated, stuttering. "What... what do you want?"

He silently stared back at her, eyes roaming over her figure. His gaze travelled all over her body, from her larger than usual forehead, to her eyes, the lips she was nervously biting, her clothes, stopping longer on her bandaged right hand, her now healed side and legs, before coming up to her hand again. She had healed it as well as all of her other injuries once outside of the maze, but preffered bandaging it again, to remind herself not to strain it; her fingers and wrist were sore. She still had ways to go before perfectly mastering her shishou's technique. Uncomfortabe under his scrutiny, she hid her hand behind her back and his eyes went snapped up to her face, locking onto her own. They stared at each other for another while, Sakura becoming more creeped out by the minute. What did he want?

When he finally spoke, she jumped, startled, before heavily blushing out of shame. "You are scared of me." he stated and she didn't know what to answer. It was pretty obvious.

He looked at her for a few more moments, frowning a bit, before nodding to himself and turning towards the balcony. He put something on the table as he passed her, barely brushing her side and disappeared in the night. When she regained her senses, she stared down at what he left behind.

A pair of simple, black gloves...

* * *

**_That's that. Hope you enjoyed it? Reviews are welcome and helpful, so leave one if you have time? Thank you for taking time to read._**

**_Yeti._**


	2. Castles, gazes and injuries

___**So, second chapter. I know it took ages and I'm sorry. Anyway, enjoy your read and comment please? I'd like to know what you think of it so far. :)**_

* * *

_Happy Tanabata, Sakura. Yeah right. Everyone's currently having fun, walking around Konoha dressed in pretty yukata, eating and hanging their wishes... What am I doing? Hanging from a freakin' castle, in the rain!_

To say she was in a bad mood was an understatement. When her mentor had summoned her to entrust her with her first solo mission since she became a Chûnin, she had been more than pleased. Thrilled, actually. Promoted barely two months ago, she would be the first to go solo from their group and she couldn't wait to rub it in Ino's and Kiba's faces. When the blonde Kage had announced that she would have to recover an important scroll near Amegakure, pride swelled inside her. Solo **and **abroad! She accepted the mission with a huge grin and hurried out of the Hokage's tower to brag.

She wasn't feeling as giddy anymore. The moment she had set foot in this cursed country, rain poured mercilessly down onto her, as if somebody had just emptied a whole barrel over her head. And it never ceased. Her dark cloak soaked and weighing tons, she arrived at the foot of the stronghold covered in mud. And to think she'd donned her new clothes, the red, sleeveless tanktop, purple medical skirt over black biker shorts and long, black, leather boots. She could go ahead and buy new ones once back in Konoha! Wet, tired and irritated, the kunoichi had jumped towards the slippery, dark fortification, intent on climbing it as fast as possible. That is, if the pair of guards beneath hadn't interrupted her. The moment she heard them arriving, grumbling at the downpour, she stopped her ascent. Quickly pulling out a pair of kunai, she stabbed them in the wall and gripped them tighly, limply hanging against the wall, hoping her black cloak and the surrounding darkness would be enough to keep her out of sight.

"Why did it have to be us on guard duty today? Everytime it's raining, they send us out!" one of them complained, stopping under the unmoving kunoichi.

"Why are you complaining? At least you came back from your day off! I've been here for more than a week and was hoping to spend Tanabata with the kids!"

_And I was hoping to get out of this freezing rain! Mind moving?_ Her arms were starting to sting and she was contemplating knocking them out, discretion be damned.

"I'm hungry. Besides, who'd be dumb enough to try and break in today?" The kunoichi gritted her teeth at that, already imagining her hands around his throat. "How 'bout we head back, maybe find someone to replace us earlier?"

"Good idea, let's go."

She shighed when they were out of her hearing range and stood up, ripping the knives out of the wall. This mission was really going to be a pain! She continued climbing, only stopping when she reached the first gargoyle, right under the edge of the fortification, settling on it. There seemed to be no one above her, so she proceeded to take off her cloak and stuff it in the pouch on her hip, emptied for the occasion: she couldn't sneak around with it obstructing her movements. She then hoisted herself up over the edge and eyed her surroundings, looking for a way down. She found it in a nearby turret. Konoha spies had grossly mapped the area so she knew most of the place's architecture. Tsunade had ordered the infiltration to go unnoticed, so she had to pay even more attention to not being seen. Her muddy boots squelched on the stairs at which she pulled a disgusted face, but luckily went unnoticed among the other dirty footprints. The place was dimly lit, yet she didn't mind, it helped conceal her presence. Distinct steps were then heard and she stopped, looking around, slightly panicked, for a place to hide. She could either continue and meet the guard head on, or turn around and risk being heard while she hurried up. The guard came into sight then and stopped as well. He adjusted his helmet, mumbling about how small it was. Green orbs watched him leave from the form concealed above his head, arms and legs pushing against the sides of the wall to keep its balance. It then realeased its hold and skillfully landed in a crouch. Sakura straightened and continued her trek downwards. Once downstairs, she checked her surroundings, hidden in the shadows out the entrance. The main building was in front of her, wooden door heavily guarded. Then again, she never expected to get in through the door. After a quick scan, she found a small, ajar window on the farthest corner of the house. She slipped towards it, eyes never leaving the guards and as quietly as possible. Under the cover of the shadows once more, she examined the window, three floors above her. She had a hook and some wire she could throw up, but it would make too much noise and using chakra could alert the guards that there was an intruder.

_Good old climbing it is, then._ She wryly thought, fingers digging into the small holes between the bricks. Shinobi were taught at the Academy from a very young age how to climb trees and walls using their bare hands and feet, but rarely ever had to resort to it, preferring the use of chakra or other objects. She periodically stopped to either check if the coast was clear or stretch her numb fingers. She peered over the windowsill and was only mildly surprised to end up in a small kitchen. Most likely that of the servants. It seemed empty and the lights were turned off. With precise movements, she flipped over the edge, landing with a soft thump on the floor. She grabbed a nearby towel and dried the excess water off her body as well as cleaning her dirty boots. The towel ended up in one of the trashcans and she headed towards the only door, cracking it open. She could hear the faint noise of a conversation down the hall and decided to go the opposite way. Her senses alert, she barely dared to breath in the bright hallways, that offered few hiding spaces. She needed to find a staircase; if this was the servant's quarters, the landlord's room had to be upstairs. She found it surprising that so few guards were employed for such a huge fort.

The upper level was completely different from where she had just come from. If the servant's quarters were dull and mostly empty, the lord's floor was heavily decorated, with armor suits aligned against the walls and tapestries above them, showing either the family coat of arms or depicting some epic, bloody battle. A huge candelabrum hanging in the middle of the ceiling illuminated the round hallway, with only three doors around it. Two smaller and more modest and an extravagant one, right in front of her. It's nob was out of gold and shaped like a sword and a creature Sakura identified as a dragon was drawn on it. She found it distasteful and clashing with the rest of the decor and decided that had to be the place she was looking for. All that remained was to find a way in without being detected. _Easier said than done..._

She examined every corner, but it was a fruitless effort. There were no secret passages, ventilations she could crawl through and not even a window to try breaking in from outside. She had exactly one solution: use the door. She sighed and slipped her hand in her pouch, taking out a pair of blackgloves. She paused, observing them. The first time she'd seen them was a few months earlier, left on the kitchen table by a certain redhead. She hadn't touched them that night, abandoning them on the table with every intention of forgetting about them. That was without counting her nosy childhood friend and rival, who had swiftly pulled them out of her pouch the next day, mischeviously dangling them in front of her nose.

"So Forehead, who brought you this?" she'd laughed. "Didn't know you had a secret admirer here in Suna. Who is it? That tall, strong brunette you were so comfy with last night?"

Sakura had refused to answer her question, wrenching the gloves from her hand and stuffing them in her backpack, before sprinting away from the annoying blonde. She'd waited to be in her room's safety before taking the offending present out and throwing it on her dresser, trying to glare holes into it. She'd be damned before ever using them. Her stubbornnes had been fast defeated when, after a week of intense training with Tsunade she had gotten back home drained and the skin of her hands raw. She'd taken them with her the next day and put them on with barely disguised disgust. They had been more than effective; the material though on the outside, resisiting the savagery of her every blow, and soft enough on the inside to protect her skin. As much as it annoyed her to admit it, they were perfect for her. And she loathed him even more for it, knowing he'd found out the weakness of her technique after confronting her just twice. What she despised even more was that in some twisted way, the gloves were like her: though on the outside, soft on the inside. She didn't dare imagine what it would mean if he had seen through her as well...

She pulled the gloves on, flexing her fingers and silently approached the door. It didn't make a sound when she opened it and she gracefully slipped inside. There, in an enormous four-poster bed was a man, the regular raising and dropping of his chest indicating he was sound asleep. The kunoichi wanted to snort at the sight, wondering how this man could have lived for so long without being stabbed in his sleep. Nobody was guarding his room and he was sleeping like a baby; had her mission be to assassinate him, it would have been too easy. She checked that the bandana was still hiding her flashy hair, before pulling the mask pooling around her neck up over her nose. She stalked towards him, weapon at the ready.

The man, Lord Hiken, a noble of thirty years of age approximately woke up at the feel of rough material on his mouth and his panicked grey irises snapped to the emerald ones towering above him. The young woman – for there was no mistaking her gender, even with half her face covered – had a gloved-hand clasped over his mouth to stop him from shouting and he could feel the cool tip of a weapon at his throat. He gulped and the movement brought the metal closer, scraping at his skin.

"Don't you dare shout." she threatened, words harsh even when whispering. "Where is the scroll? Tell me and I won't harm you."

He searched what he could see of her face, desperately trying to make out who she was or where she was from. She seemed to have noticed, for her eyes narrowed and the tip of her knife bit into his skin. He whimpered under her palm, rapidly blinking. She removed her hand, moving to grab his chin and forcing him to continue looking at her.

"It's in the basement. Under the castle." he muttered, voice shaky.

She searched his eyes, before nodding, her hand releasing his face and disappearing out of his sight. He inhaled sharply when something pricked his skin, at the junction of his neck and shoulder. He felt drowsy, barely able to keep his eyes open. The girl above her blurred and darkness took over.

Sakura straightened, putting both kunai and empty syringe away. With the dose he'd received, the lord would be out until noon the next day at which time, she would hopefully be far away. She left the room and took the stairs in a hurry to find aforementioned basement. She had been right when she predicted that the mission would be troublesome...

* * *

The place was moldy, dark and huge and, much to her displeasure, quite maze-like. As if she hadn't had enough of those! Forcing the entrance had been fairly simple and, though it didn't seem that it was guarded, she had put a genjutsu over it to hide her intrusion. She walked down the main path, her steps echoing all around her. She didn't bother for once. Who would even guard this place?

The medic-nin only stopped when she arrived at the pedestal, the scroll in an open, velvet box illuminated by a couple of candles hanging from the wall on each side of the construction. She examined it as well as the walls and floor around, looking for traps.

_I'm pretty sure the moment I step closer, a pitfall will open up under my feet, or one of those spiky walls will close around me... Something creepy like that, that's what always seems to happen lately._

As soon as she heard the swishing noise, she crouched low and rolled to the side, narrowly evading the blade. She could see it connected to an arm that... didn't seem human? Her eyes widened and the moment the word "puppet" crossed her mind, a powerful gust of air hit her in the back, hurtling her face-forward towards the nearest pillar. She was violently slammed against it, her head swimming, mask soaked with blood and all of her body throbbing in pain.

She crawled further away, unable to move her left arm (and damn sure she'd broken her nose), trying to clear her mind. _Move... or else... sand._ Deep down, she knew he was there too and if she didn't find a way out, she'd truly die this time. She needed out and far away, no matter if the mission was a failure. It wasn't like she stood a chance against all three of the Sand siblings. Her vision slowly cleared and she stood on shaky legs, scanning the area. Temari and Kankurô both stood a few feet away, puppets and fan at the ready, though they didn't seem to be moving. Sakura gasped and forced her legs to carry her away from the hard surface her back had just touched. She had blindly made her way up till the remaining Suna nin, his sand shield coming up between them when it deemed her to be too close. She sprinted down the path, towards the exit, but a sand wall came up again, blocking her. She noted with both aggravation and desperation that he was playing with her. Why did it always seem to come down to this sick cat and mouse game between them and why couldn't _she_ be the cat for once? She bit her lip hard enough to draw blood, eyes darting from one sibling to the other. _Think, think, think, find a way out! You outsmarted Gaara once, you can do it again! Same with Temari and Kankurô._

She fished around her holsters and grabbed a handful of kunai, throwing them their way. Gaara's sand rose up to block them, while Temari sent them back her way with a movement of her fan. Kankurô awarded her with a sardonic smile when he noticed how many of them had been grossly thrown and embedded in the pillars around them. She smirked under her mask, planting one last kunai in the column behind her. Three pairs of eyes zoomed in on it, before hurrieldy checking the ones in the walls near them. Each had an exploding tag attached to it, seconds away from exploding. By the time they looked back at Sakura, she was halfway up, nearing the ceiling.

There was a large detonation behind her and she could feel the flames licking her skin and the stone crumbling under her feet. Concentrating as much chakra to the soles of her feet as possible, she jumped from one falling boulder to another, destroying those she couldn't use as leverage or that threatened to cut her path. Once above ground, she threw the hook she brought with her towards a tall tree, using the wire attached to it to pull herself to safety. She watched the castle fall to pieces and being eaten up by the flames and wondered how exactly was she going to explain this mess to her master. She glanced at her left arm and winced when she finally noticed that it was dislocated. With the adrenaline slowly draining away, the pain came back full-force. A few more meetings of the sort with the Sand siblings and she'd be pushing up the daisies before her twenties! She knew perfectly well they were alive and kicking somewhere around the rubble, but she wasn't in the mood to look for them. Far from it actually.

Sliding from her branch, she gracefully landed on the muddy floor, thankful that it had finally stopped raining. She turned to head towards Konoha, already fantasizing about the nice, hot bath she would be taking back home and maybe some painkillers? One moment she was practically skipping towards her hometown, the other she was hanging mid-air, suffocating. He was right there, at arm's length, face deformed by fury and his form almost glowing with barely repressed violence. The sand crawled up her skin, wrapping around her body and head until only the upper half of her face could be seen. Temari and Kankurô stood behind them, the former leaning on her closed fan and the other straight and tense, both covered by cuts and dirt. They were staring intently at her, the older male frowning. She couldn't breathe and no matter how much she struggled, couldn't move a muscle. Her body was spasming under the crushing hold of the sand and her eyes wanted to roll up, inside her head. _No, no, no, no, no._ He had composed himself, looking impassive again. Her pleading eyes met his uncaring ones and they seemed to widen in recognition, while in the meantime from somewhere behind them, Kankurô let out a panicked "Wait, Gaara, stop!". The hold on her slackened and she ended up in a motionless heap on the ground, gasping as her lungs were finally free to function again. She tore off her mask to allow herself more breathing space, speckles of blood flying everywhere. Kankurô kneeled by her side, one hand worriedly hovering above her shoulder. Gaara had taken a step back, arms crossed and eyes never leaving her form. His hand was clutching his forearm tighter than necessary, knuckles turning white.

"Are you okay?" Temari asked, voice hoarse and filled with worry.

Too busy gulping down the remaining of her water and evening her breath, the pinkette nodded, not daring to meet the redhead's gaze. Once calm, she spread her legs in front of her, not caring that they would end up muddied, left arm hanging limply by her side. She wiped her bloody nose, wincing at the bolt of pain that shot through her. She'd need to heal it quick or risk resembling a bulldog for the rest of her life... _Better_. A silent sigh escaped her lips.

Kankurô shot her a glance. "Your arm..." he started, motioning towards it.

"Oh, yeah, right, I should put it back in place." she mumbled, suddenly remembering it and not at all thrilled with the prospect.

She stood and moved towards the nearest tree, setting her arm against it. She bit down on the mask pooling around her neck and closed her eyes. She saw stars and only the knowledge that three Suna nin were watching her helped her hold back the wail she so badly wanted to let out. She slid against the tree, exhausted, wishing she could curl up, fall asleep and just forget this nightmare of a mission. For now, she closed her eyes and let her head fall back against the rough bark, basking in the silence and doing her best to ignore the tension surrounding her. Her respite was short-lived though.

"Why didn't you tell us it was you? We almost killed you and that would've broken our countries' temporary treaty!" Temari accused.

The rosette opened one eye and looked at her. She knew she wasn't only worried about the treaty.

"Didn't really have the time or opportunity to do so." she remarked, voice gruff, feeling the beginning of a pounding headache.

"You could have pulled the hood down, instead of attacking us. We could have recognised you." Kankurô noted, crouching not far away from her.

Sakura closed her eyes again, wondering if she should tell them the truth. "Yeah, well, after that warm welcome I thought I'd return the favor." a sly smirk spread across her features.

After a surprised silence, she heard Kankurô chuckle and Temari snort, and grinned. They were dangerous, strong and merciless, but she sort of liked the two of them anyway. Speaking of which...

"Why were all the three of you guarding that scroll?" she asked, both eyes snapping open.

They looked at each other, clearly uncomfortable. Mission details weren't discussed with anyone but the Kage and the team concerned, Sakura knew that very well, but ever since meeting them in the basement, something was gnawing at her.

"It's really important." she pressed. "I think... I think somebody might be out to get Konoha or Suna, or even both, so I would like to know your mission's rank."

They threw her suspicious looks, before Temari finally spoke up. "Our mission was to eliminate anyone who entered the basement, regardless where they were from. It was an S-rank mission and we were all specially requested." she admitted. "Why do you think there is some conspiracy behind this? You got in pretty easy."

"I did, because the castle was barely guarded on the inside. There weren't any traps in the basement and no guards around it. Even if you were there, they should have posted somebody there. For the show, at least. Like you said, it was way too easy to get in and now that I think back on it, it was almost as if they _wanted _the infiltrator to get down to the scroll and meet up with you so you could tear them apart."

"Wouldn't they have set up traps then? Weaken the intruder to make it easier for us?"

Sakura scoffed. "As if you needed anyone to weaken your opponents." she mumbled, ignoring their haughty smirks. "Setting up traps and more guards could have dissuaded the infiltrator from continuing. I think they wanted to lull him – well, me – into some false sense of security. I can't believe I actually fell for it, like some stupid Academy student!" she added with a pained expression.

"Oh, come on, it's not like that would have sent you running away or injured you!" the puppet-master exclaimed, disbelief written all over his painted features.

"My mission was a simple «infiltrate the castle and steal the scroll», no guarding shinobi mentioned anywhere. Besides, it was solo and B-rank. The one who hired me made sure to tell Tsunade-sama that it was to be solo."

Temari was looking at a point above her head, finger thoughtfully stroking her bottom lip, while Kankurô frowned at her. She glanced from one to another, waiting for their opinion on her theory. It was lacking and rushed, she agreed, but viable nonetheless. It was Gaara who spoke up first, startling the three of them, who had seemingly forgotten about his presence.

"We need to contact the Council and the Hokage on this matter." he said in a monotone, eyes trained on the pinkette and periodically snapping towards his siblings. "If this was truly an attempt to start a new war between Konoha and Suna, these matters need to be looked into."

His voice was that of a man's who wouldn't suffer retorts or complaints and both Temari and Kankurô stood, ready to leave. Sakura followed suit, standing on wobbly feet. She set a hand against the tree to hold her up while a wave of nausea and dizziness hit her. She couldn't withhold the embarrassed flush creeping up her cheeks and her display of weakness. They were all so confident and tough, and here she was staggering under their piercing gazes.

"Head to Suna and talk to the Council. I'm going to Konoha to meet the Hokage and escort the envoy they will probably send to settle matters." Gaara ordered, turning his back on his teammates, who nodded once before disappearing among the trees.

Sakura stared at his retreating back, bewildered. _Why the hell is he coming with me? It's not like I need protection or an escort!_ Grinding her teeth in annoyance, she caught up, glaring at the back of his head. She was completely ignored, which aggravated her even more. If the mission had been a pain, well the trip to Konoha would be even worse!

* * *

"Gaara-san, we should stop. Oh, don't look at me like that, we've been running all night and we need to rest! What if someone were to attack us and we're too tired to fight back?"

The look he gave her clearly stated that was not likely to happen. To him, at least. She sighed, frustrated, pushing a dirty pink lock behind her ear, grumbling when it just fell back into place. They had indeed been advancing at high speed towards Konoha ever since they split up back at the (remains of the) castle and she was starting to feel the strain of it. She hadn't slept nor eaten in more than a day and her legs were violently protesting. Not to mention the annoying little dots splayed across her vision for the last two hours or so. Why the heck did this man have so much stamina? The gourd must have weighed quite a lot, yet he still looked like someone out on a hike, rather than a shinobi who'd just survived a crumbling building and a taxing fight. Sort of. When he finally agreed to her request with a slight nod, a cry of joy escaped her and she collapsed near a big oak tree. He sat down opposite her, gourd against his side. She was too busy filling her empty stomach with water to notice his staring. When she finally did though, she felt as squeamish as that night back at the hotel.

"What?"

"You're using the gloves."

That took her by surprise and she glanced towards her covered hands. She was, indeed. Removing them, she dusted them off before setting them in the safety of her pouch.

"Yes, I am. They're quite useful. And comfy." she admitted, a tentative smile crossing her features. "Why did you give them to me, by the way?"

The shrug she was given as an answer ticked her off and it took all of her self-control not to send a nasty reply his way. Was he making fun of her? So he had been suddenly feeling generous and decided to buy her a pair of gloves? No hidden meaning behind them, like he might've acknowledged her strength or at least admitted she wasn't as weak as before? She was taking it out on the grass around her, plucking handful of blades and throwing them out in front of her, just to have it blown back into her face. Spitting and grumbling, she refused to look up at him and proceeded to tear small bits of bark off of the tree she was leaning up against. He wanted to be a jerk? Fine. _See if I care!_

His silent observation had her stilling her movements. "You're not afraid anymore."

His tone was low and somewhat lacking the rough edge it usually held. Though she knew it wasn't a question, she could sense some uncertainty behind it. The kunoichi locked gazes with him, surprised. Did it... matter? And wasn't she?

"No, it seems I'm not that afraid anymore." she admitted, though felt compelled to add, "At least when you're not trying to kill me."

He nodded once, turning his jade orbs towards the forest. He was as deadly as usual, of that she was sure, since she'd been on the receiving end of it thrice in the last two months. He was also as impassive and cold as ever, but there seemed to be other feelings down there too... Was it curiosity? It certainly felt like it, what whith his wondering about why she wore the gloves he gave her and about her fear. Maybe Naruto was right and there was a human somewhere deep down in that monster? _I should stop calling him that..._

"Thank you. For the gloves I mean. I've been able to train more efficiently with them, since I don't have to constantly worry about my hands. Shishou also said they were really good and they must've cost a fortune and, " she blushed, suddenly aware she was rambling " and well, thanks. I'll... I'll take care of them."

She suddenly stood up and started brushing herself off, trying to hide her embarrassment. Gaara grunted in return, standing as well. The tension between them seemed to let up after her admission. She secretly smiled and followed him as they set out towards Konoha, at a more leisurely pace this time.

_Yeah... maybe there is a human in there..._

* * *

_**So, watcha think? I'm rather satisfied with this chappie, except the ending, felt kind of rushed to me... :/**  
_

_**What about you guys? Anyway, thanks for reading and see you for the next chapter, which will be published... someday... ^^"**_


	3. Diplomats, breezes and trainings

_**I had finished this chapter quite some time ago, but having tons of make up exams, it took more time to re-read it and correct the major mistakes, sorry you had to wait this long. Hope you'll still enjoy reading it. Personally, I'm not all that satisfied with this chapter, but hopefully, it's just me and you'll still have some fun reading it. Or interest. Or whatever you feel when you read this! xD**_

* * *

_Oh, you monster! You inhuman, cruel... Why? Why me? I barely got back, why did it have to be me?!_

Exhausted, dirty and famished, Haruno Sakura was glaring holes into the Hokage office's door, where her mentor was currently discussing with her travel companion. They had arrived in Konoha at the break of dawn and had immediatly rushed towards the blonde Kage, whom they found asleep on a stash of documents with Shizune nowhere to be found. She had listened to her apprentice's report and suspicions, reaching for confirmation from the redhead. After a moment's consideration, grumbling and finger-tapping against her cheek, Tsunade finally decided that this was indeed a matter that needed looking into and to send her pink-haired apprentice as a messenger and liaison to Suna. Much to said girl's displeasure.

"Sakura, nice seeing you here." a familiar voice greeted, as a Jônin-clad man plonked down on the chair beside her.

She didn't have to turn her head to recognise the deep drawl and nonchalant manners of her old sensei. She blew a dirty lock out of her eyes, still glaring at the door and her unsuspecting mentor. "Poor choice of words, sensei. Nothing's nice for the time being!"

"My, my, had a bad mission? Failed your first solo and Tsunade-sama gave you an earful?" she could feel the half-teasing, half-smug smirk he surely had on and turned her face towards him long enough to shoot him a nasty look as well.

Before she could reply, the door opened, revealing Tsunade and Gaara, the first training her eyes on Kakashi and the second on her.

"Sakura, I know I'm asking a lot of you, especially since you barely returned, but you'll have to leave immediatly with Gaara. I suppose I don't have to remind you to behave impeccably in Suna, as Konoha's ambassador? Good. I'll contact you as soon as possible. You can go. As for you Kakashi, follow me, I have work for you."

When the door finally closed behind the the Hokage, Sakura let out a weary sigh, leaning her head against the wall, eyes closed. She stayed there for a few moments, unaware of her companion's scrutinizing gaze on her, only remembering his presence when the floor creaked as he moved his weight from on leg to the other.

"Might as well go on, then." she said, gesturing for him to follow.

They met Shizune at the bottom of the Hokage Tower and were given a bag with food, water and spare clothes. Sakura could have kissed the woman, but settled for a grateful and quick hug.

The willage was still asleep and pretty empty – save for the few shinobi heading home or on a mission – by the time they got to the gate and the pinkette send a longing glance towards where her home was, with her big bathtub and comfortable, warm bed. She miserably turned away, catching up with her redheaded companion, who had seemingly forgotten about her and left already.

* * *

"I really need you to stop, Gaara-san."

As before, stopping him when on the road proved to be as difficult as keeping Naruto away from ramen. He just wouldn't listen and stubbornly continue going, uncaring of whether he was moving too fast or for too long without a break. Irritated, the pinkette dropped her belongings and informed him that she would temporarily not budge. He turned around, staring at her.

"We'll be at the border in two hour's time and I haven't bathed in four days. I'm not going to enter Suna stinking of sweat, dirt, blood and whatever other smell I've picked up these last few days." she stated, arms crossed, a look of defiance painted on her face.

"You will sweat in the desert as well." was his terse reply.

"Whatever. We still need a break." she shot back, taking the clothes Shizune packed her – a pair of knee-long, dar blue Chûnin pants and a sleeveless, black, form-fitting shirt. She left the flak jacket that she never liked in the first place: it bothered her when she fought, blocking her movements and making too much noise when it's pockets were filled, and headed off into the forest.

_Mmmm... this feels so good!_ A blissful sigh escaped her lips as she dived in the stream – the last one before entering desert territory –, rubbing the knots and dirt out of her hair. In the heat surrounding her, the water was tepid against her warm skin. _Good thing I asked him to stop, this is heavenly!_

She swam around for some time, enjoying the slow flow around her. As a water-type, she had always felt good in it, be it her bath or a river. She especially liked the feel of it against her naked skin. On missions, when her teammates usually only stripped down to their underwear to hastily clean themselves, she'd go commando and dive head-first in, playing around like a happy little otter. As a pre-teen, she had been quite prudish, but as she matured and her confidence grew – no to mention her shishou revealed her element, telling her to go «get accustomed to water» –, she gave in to her desire of swimming around naked. People were usually taken aback at first, for it wasn't a behavior they were expecting from the Hokage's apprentice, but they slowly got used to it. She chuckled, remembering the first time she'd given in on a mission.

It had been about a year earlier, after a recon with Team Gai near the border of Cha no Kuni, the Land of Tea. They had spent most of their time near the sea, with Neji never letting them take a dip, despite Tenten's constant pleas and whimpers. He couldn't care less about «Konoha shinobi that barely ever get to go to the sea so once we're here, we should at least have a bit of fun, right?». So when their week-long mission ended without them gathering any valuable information – they seemed to have been given false lead – Sakura grabbed her friend's arm and dragged her towards the crystal clear water, stripping as she approached the shore. By the time Neji and Lee caught up with them, she was in her underwear. The Byakugan user was about to give them a piece of his mind, but the words died in his throat when the pinkette divested herself of her bra. Stark naked, Sakura jumped in the water, happily laughing, while Tenten was gaping like a fish, Neji was frozen in place and Lee turned away, beet read and mumbling under his breath. Tenten had shortly joined her as well – in her underwear, mind you – while the boys had gone out to gather food and wood for that evening. The girls even got away without a scolding that evening...

Giggling to herself, Sakura proceeded to wash her clothes and spread them on a rock to dry. She then settled on one herself, dipping her toes in the stream. Feeling playful, she made a few handsigns and small spurts of water rose around her. She had learned lots of smaller techniques like this one when she was studying Suiton. People tended to overlook them, since they weren't neither offensive nor defensive skills, but most forgot that decades ago, these simpler techniques were used to accustom children from a very young age to their affinity. And as the dutiful student that she was, she had started learning from the basics and now had a variety of seemingly useless techniques that had, in fact, come in handy quite often. She used one of the spurts to fill her canteen and headed back to camp, clean and fully clothed, her favorite boots looking almost as good as they did before the Ame mission. At her arrival, Gaara stood up and left, leaving her no choice but to follow. Good thing she had eaten some berries while she was drying, since the Suna nin seemed intent on starving her...

* * *

Relief flooded her when the mountain that surrounded Suna finally came into view, their tiresome and sand-filled journey coming to an end at last. This was her second time here and she had hated it as much as the first one. Sweat trickled down her temple, which she swept away with the back of her hand, adding another layer of dirtiness to her face. Licking her cracked lips in an attempt to moisten them, she only ended up with a mouthful of sand. Gaara trudged on, oblivious to his companion's spitting and cursing, heading straight towards the shade offered by the high cliffs that served as an entrance to Suna. The guards froze at his sight and let him pass without daring to look him in the eye. They didn't even check her documents. She glanced at the back of his head and for the first time, she understood how lonely he must be. No matter which Konoha shinobi entered the gates back home, they were always greeted with either a smile or a friendly wave and some even stopped to chat with the guards on duty when they had spare time. _«He only ever had himself to rely on and care for...»_. Suddenly, Naruto's words seemed to make more sense, yet she still wondered: was loneliness enough to turn one into a heartless killing-machine that enjoyed slaughtering his victims and showering in their blood? Everyone reacted differently, that much she knew, afterall, Naruto became a prankster and a real pain in the neck due to loneliness and Sasuke was antisocial and quite often mean. As for herself... well she either cried herself to sleep or tried to forget about it by studying for hours. There had to be more to it than just people not daring to come near him and Suna was probably the best place to find out why. _Wait, what?_ Why did she even want to know something like that? She shook her head, chasing her thoughts away and almost bumping into the redheaded nin that suddenly halted in front of her. She managed to avoid him with a clumsy pirouette and questioningly glanced at him, but his eyes were trained on the man in front of them. A veil was wrapped around his head and loosely hung on the left side of his face, while two red lines were painted on his right cheek. He wore the Suna headband and Jônin outfit.

"Baki-san." Sakura greeted with a small bow, to which he responded in kind.

"You must be the Konoha ambassador. Welcome. The Council is ready to see you, but first, let me take you to your temporary living quarters, to freshen up." he said, eyes periodically snapping to the boy beside her. "You should go as well, Gaara, they want to talk to you too."

Said nin disappeared in a flurry of sand, without any final words to any of them. Sakura followed Baki who seemed less tense now that Gaara had left. They didn't go to the nice hotel she had stayed in during the examination, in the richer part of Suna, but instead headed towards the center of the city. The Jônin stopped in front of a modest, clay house, nowhere near as pretty or extravagant as the stucco-covered ones in the richer district. He opened the door for her and let her in, before handing her the key.

"Somebody will come pick you up and take you to the Council in an hour and a half. If in the meantime you find you might be missing something, feel free to inform them."

By the time she got the "Thank you" out, Baki had already shut the door behind him. Sakura looked around. It was more of a room than a house, really, lit with a few candles on the wall, the shutters closed to keep the place cool. The kitchen area was open, while the bathroom was only separated from the room with a wall. She approached it, inspecting it. She'd never seen such a weird way of building it: there was no door, so one could get in just by going round the dividing wall. The toilet was a few feet inside, while the shower was installed in the corner. In the kitchen, there was only a small sink, a huge fireplace – probably used for both cooking and heating the house in winter – and a table meant for two people. The kitchenware was in a small cupboard near the sink. Heading towards her bed – a bit hard, but it was double, so she wouldn't complain – she opened the only door that could be found in the room. It was a mix between a small storage room and a closet. There were mops, brooms and a rather large bucket in the lower half. Above it were four shelves, the one on top occupied by the bed linen and pillows. Dropping her bag next to the bed, the pinkette went to the shower. She was pretty hungry, but that would have to wait until she was clean.

She was sharpening her weapons when she heard the first knock. Slipping the kunai in the holster around her thigh, she spit out the herbs she was chewing – something had to be done to temporarily clean her teeth and chase away any bad breath, seeing as she cleverly forgot both her toothbrush and paste! – and went to answer.

"Good, you look presentable. Ready to go, then?" the blonde Fûton-user asked, a smirk on her lips and fan strapped to her back. Even in their own village, not one of the Sand siblings seemed to ever separate from their weapon of choice.

Sakura nodded and followed the blonde in the deserted street, still too hot oustide for any merchant to open up their shop.

* * *

"_You_ are the ambassador sent by Konohagakure?" the elder's voice was a mix between accusation and disbelief, the former probably due to him remembering what she did with their maze a few months back and the latter..., well it could either be her rank, her age or even her gender.

"Yes. My name is Haruno Sakura, Chûnin of Konoha and apprentice of the Hokage herself." might as well try impressing them as much as possible.

"Well, Haruno-san, could you explain why Tsunade-hime sent you for a mission of this scale?" asked an old woman, her hands shaking on the table. She looked like the oldest of them.

"As you might be aware, I was sent on a mission to Ame, where I met and fought with a team from Suna." she explained, not looking at any of the Sand siblings standing next to her. "Having passed them on several occasion, we managed to recognize each other before anyone was killed. After what I have observed during my mission, the meeting and fight with your shinobi, I have come to a conclusion that this might have been a deliberate act on somebody's part."

"How? It isn't the first time shinobi of both our villages end up on the same mission." another elder cut in.

Sakura frowned, this time looking at the three nin beside her, though none of them looked back. Her shishou had been understanding about her reasons when she had told her she'd revealed classified facts about her mission to foreign shinobi, but she doubted the Suna Council would be as nice. Kankurô and Temari were both tense, hands clasped behind their backs, while Gaara menacingly stood between them and her. If she said something wrong, they would no doubt get into heaps of trouble...

Her eyes snapped back with a determined look towards the elders. She would try to help the siblings out whether they wanted it or not and even if they weren't going to show any gratitude afterwards. "I revealed the rank of my mission to them and judging from their reaction, decided theirs was higher." she said, carfeully wording her thoughts. "And when I saw what team was chosen, I understood that it wasn't simply to guard a scroll but probably to assassinate anyone that came near it."

The elders remained silent, some of them throwing displeased looks to the three beside her, but they had no evidence that what Sakura deduced wasn't only due to her keen intellect. The rosette let them marinate a bit in her words, before continuing.

"Afterwards, I told them about my theory and since they all believed that it would be better to investigate on this matter, we decided to split up and bring the information to both our villages. Shishou chose me because I was the one that came up with this and also since I would be easier to contact here than most other Konoha shinobi."

"How come?" the first elder asked, eyebrows disappearing under his wrinkles.

"Tsunade-sama has her own way off communicating with her students as well as our personal code. Any information she might get from this investigation will be directly sent to me, since I will receive it and decode it faster and I shall then relay it to you."

"Who is in charge of this investigation? Is he even good enough? Your fight destroyed the castle..."

"He is more than capable of handling it." Sakura replied a bit harshly, somewhat offended by their lack of trust in her hometown's shinobi. "The man in charge is Hatake Kakashi, my sensei."

"Yes... a rather good choice... Clever, good nose, efficient techniques." the woman thought out loud.

Sakura actually smirked at that, satisfied she shut their old mouths. Konoha was filled with talented, strong shinobi and her shishou always chose the right man for the right mission, so these old farts could just shut up and mind their own business! If her mentor thought she was the one for this mission, than the others had no right to doubt her choices.

"The Council will now discuss this matter. You are all dismissed. Haruno-san, be sure to come to us as soon as you received news. The guards shall be informed and you will be granted entry." the oldest said, straightening as much as his old body allowed. "As for you three... _never_ make any mistakes of the sort again in the future. Suna shinobi being read as open books? Unheard of! Return back to training immediatly!"

By the time they got out, the sun was setting and the streets were illuminated by the lights of the open stands. People were walking around, chatting animatedly, while children played among the crowd, slaloming between people. Sakura smiled a the sight of the now lively city, before her eyes caught sight of the Sand siblings.

"Sorry I still managed to get you into trouble." she said, shuffling her feet.

Temari scoffed and Kankurô chuckled. "Don't worry, you actually did some pretty strong damage control!" he laughed. "For a second, I thought you'd reveal everything and we'd be hanging by tomorrow for treason!"

The joke didn't make her laugh, on the contrary, it horrified her. Temari set a hand on her shoulder. She wore a small but grateful smile. "You did well. You said what you had to say and even managed to protect us and for that, we owe you." the pinkette's stomach chose that moment to give a loud growl, earning her a smirk from the blonde and a guffaw from the puppeteer. "How's dinner sound?"

"Fantastic!"

* * *

It was incredible what one could find out about another if they paid enough attention. In their hometown and off duty, they behaved differently, even if only remotely. That evening, she learned that Temari's favorite food was kenshin soup, Gaara's was gizzard, that Kankurô was crazy about hamburger steak and that there was a place in Sunagakure that actually served all three of these dishes. She also learned that Temari liked to drink and wouldn't even get tipsy after numerous glasses, that Kankurô liked to discreetly set his part of spinach on her plate when she was busy gulping down her sake and that Gaara actually scrunched up his nose when confronted with yôkan. In the small, dimly-lit restaurant – that was more like a closed-off stall –, the siblings seemed to become entirely different people. Well, the older ones more than the youngest. Kankurô, it turned out, liked to joke and laugh with people, but only ever indulged himself when surrounded by friends. The statement caught the pinkette by surprise, for she didn't know she was counted among them. She was also told about Temari's like to gossip or settling on elevated places to observe and comment about passersby. The blonde even asked her if she wanted to come, since her brothers weren't patient enough to listen to her rambling.

"So? What about you?" the puppeteer suddenly asked, chewing on the yôkan Gaara had pushed away. "We're telling you all of our darkest of secrets, giving Konoha an advantage on us, so you might as well repay us in kind!"

She smiled, swallowing her dumpling before answering. "I'm not that much of a mystery, you know. I don't really have much of a hobby, for starters. I like to study... and most people tend to give me that look when I say this."

"No offense, but you gotta admit it's unusual! If you would've said training, ok, but _studying_?"

"I can't always train, now can I? Medical ninjutsu needs a lot of studying, it's more than just learning the basics and then experimenting until you get it right!"

"What about that strength you used to destroy our maze?" the blonde curiously quipped. "It's definitely not like what that Green Beast of yours, or whatever his name is, uses, right?"

Sakura pondered the question for a moment, wondering whether or not to answer it. They were from a once enemy village afterall... "Lee-san uses raw muscle power. I use chakra."

Temari nodded, understanding her unwillingness to continue. "There was another thing I wanted to ask, it's been on my mind for a while. Where _is_ Naruto?"

"Yeah, that's true. How come he wasn't at the Chûnin examination?" Kankurô asked and even Gaara seemed to have perked up a little at the question.

Sakura looked away, shoulders sagging. As always and no matter how hard she tried, mentions of her teammates made her feel sad, lonely and even abandoned. On bad days, she would wonder if it wasn't her her excessive show of affection and nastiness that drove them away and that when they would return – _if_ they came back –, none of them would want to have anything to do with her. Her distress didn't pass unnoticed by the siblings.

"Naruto... left. He went with Jiraiya-sama to train and nobody knows of his whereabouts nor when he might be coming back." she said in one breath. "You know... some days, I wonder if they will ever come back. I mean, not only are they learning from the best Konoha raised, but they are also somewhere out in the world. What if they find that they can become stronger by facing the 'real world'? Or what if one of them dies and we wouldn't even know about it!"

Her outburst left them all silent, Temari glancing at her brother and elbowing him in the side to make him speak, but Kankurô vigorously shook his head and shrugged. What did one say to a girl who spilt out her most intimate troubles so easily and to people she barely knew?

"Your lack of trust is insulting and if Naruto would have heard you, he would have been hurt be your words." his voice was steady and determined, earning him surprised looks from his dinner companions. "He fought with his life on the line to save you and chased down an entire enemy squad to retrieve the Uchiha. Thinking he might leave you behind after all he did for you is unacceptable. Don't you trust you friend?" the stress on the last word was evident.

Sakura locked gazes with him, thoughtful. For the first time, she could see something else in the sand-wielder, something more than just the weapon or the cruel, cold boy. Something bigger... A small smile formed on her lips and she nodded, momentarily unable to word her feelings, but grateful nonetheless for the comfort he had offered. Gaara leaned back against his seat, arms crossed. It had been the longest she had ever heard him speak and she found it fascinating. There was strength and conviction in his words, it made people want to listen. And for a moment there, she actually found him charismatic.

They paid for their food and left the restaurant, bidding each other good night and heading their own way.

* * *

Kankurô came to wake her up at five the next morning. She was in her nightgown, hair sticking out at every possible angle and she could barely keep her eyes open when she opened the front door, unarmed, having forgotten she wasn't in her hometown. The puppet-master gave her a once-over, nodding appreciatively at her exposed thighs, before informing her that Gaara would like to meet her in half an hour. The kunoichi stared at him, bewildered and the Sand-nin had to turn her around himself and push her inside to get her moving. She put on her usual attire, strapped two kunai holsters to her legs, pouch to her hip and fixed the headband in her hair before stepping out.

"What does he want with me at this ungodly hour?" she asked, still somewhat groggy.

"Not sure. He usually trains before sunrise, but he always does it alone... Anyway, you'll find out soon enough."

"You're not staying?"

"Nope, got a mission. Besides, Gaara's the one that guards you when it's dark outside. Temari takes mornings and I do the afternoons."

She raised an eyebrow at him. "Guards me?"

He shrugged and gave her a lopsided smile. "Or entertains you. Whichever you prefer."

"Is this your punishment for behaving out of line on that mission?" she was smirking now.

"Yeah. They thought you might drive us insane or annoy us enough so that we learn our lesson."

She chuckled. "Is it working?"

"You've been pretty decent until now, so not really."

"Shoot. I'll have to try harder. Wouldn't want to disappoint."

Their laughter echoed through the streets, the merchants who were starting to open up their shops sending them puzzled looks. The previous Kazekage's older son joking and laughing with a foreign shinobi wasn't a recurring sight. The two trudged on, oblivious to the looks they were given, chatting animatedly. Much to Sakura's surprise and delight, Kankurô was very easy to get along with. He might not have been much of a listener, but he liked to talk and had plenty interesting stories to tell. He was also intelligent so they could strike up more serious or technical conversations, not fearing they might lose the other one in the middle. By the time they arrived at the training grounds – situated in a corner of the village, not far from the underground maze –, they were engaged in a debate about whether genjutsu should be used or not on emotionally traumatized shinobi, like war veterans or those who had been broken by torture and interrogation, to make them forget their torments.

"I still think it's wrong. They would live a lie for the rest of their lives. And even if you say it's a weak argument, you can't say it's not true!"

"Maybe, but why would it be worse than being sedated, like they are now? If I had to choose, I'd rather live a lie than become a vegetable for the rest of my life!"

"Whatever, we'll continue this later on, we're here." Kankurô said, waving away her reply, which earned him a haughty look. "Gaara should be here somewhere, so I'll let you find him. Later."

She waved after him and watched him leave, before turning away with a sigh. Now to find Gaara.

* * *

"Let me see if I got this right.. _you_ want _me_ to train you?"

"Yes."

"As in _train_ you train you? Like Jônin with their Genin team. Train you like that?" she was perfectly aware he must have been taking her for an idiot, but there weren't many ways she could react to his demand.

How was she supposed to behave when someone like Gaara asked someone like her to train them? As far as she could remember, he had always been superior to her, in all aspects. Even with the gourd's and his sand-armor's weight, he had been faster than her when they were Genin. Stronger and more competent obviously and maybe even smarter. He had smashed her against a tree, almost crushing her, nearly beaten her to a pulp at the second Chûnin examination and pretty much outdone her back in the castle (though that was mostly due to them outnumbering her three to one, she stubbornly thought). Sure, she had grown, her destructive power probably not too far from matching his, her genjutsu surely surpassing his and the added benefits of her medical knowledge, but in what way did that warrant his request? She stared at him, arms limply hanging by her sides, while his were crossed. He closed his eyes for a moment, before opening them, sign of his mild irritation with her dimwitted behavior.

However, before he could utter a word, she interrupted him with an incredulous "Why?"

"There are no shinobi with a water affinity in Sunagakure." he stated.

Disbelief turned to puzzlement as she mulled over what he said. Suiton? What did he need that for? It wasn't compatible with his sand. Comprehension dawned over her.

"This is about that time, back at the Chûnin exams!" she exclaimed, a small part of her hoping he wasn't holding a grudge.

"Yes. Many have seen it and it is only a matter of time until they try to reproduce it." Ok, he was _definitely_ holding one...

"I understand, but why do you need me?"

"Wet me."

She blinked. He stared. "I beg your pardon?" The gourd's top was ejected from its place with a loud 'pop' as sand poured out of it, sprawling expectantly over the ground at his feet.

She looked back up at him and he tilted his head towards the end of the rocky training field, where an old well could be seen, lonely and miserable.

"Oh." she slowly raised her hands, preparing her jutsu. Suiton techniques were easier to use if one had a substantial amount of water at hand, for using the body's water reserves could damage one's health, so she was grateful for the well. She watched the sand turn a darker shade as it was sprayed by the clear liquid. The Sand-nin's attention immediatly turned towards it, shutting her out of his world. He brought his right hand to his chin, index and middle fingers raised, while his left hand was directed towards the sand. It lazily shifted. Gaara frowned in concentration and understanding finally washed over the kunoichi. He was training how to manipulate wet sand! She sat on a nearby rock, chin in her upturned palms, emeralds never leaving his figure. He paid no attention to her, intently focusing on his task. She knew how easily he usually commanded it and could only imagine its weight if he was barely able to make it move.

The sun was already up and fiercely beating down upon the two Chûnin by the time Temari found them. She curiously glanced between her brother and the pinkette, the first one panting from exertion and the latter observing his every movement. She sat next to the kunoichi, startling her. Sakura gazed up to the older woman, accepting the bottle with a grateful smile. She hadn't even noticed just how thirsty she was before the blonde's arrival. Which reminded her of the relentless redhead.

"Gaara-san, you should drink as well!" she called out, the medic in her worried.

He ignored her, just as she expected. No matter what she had to say, he never listened and that irked her. "Hold this." she growled, shoving the bottle in the kunoichi's hands.

She stood, quickly executing the required seals, a sly smirk on her face. She heard Temari's sharp intake of breath behind her, which was shortly followed by a huge column of water crashing on the Suna nin. Gaara blinked, confused and motionless in the middle of a pool of water and sand. She had a hard time holding back her giggles. When he finally looked at her, his usual stoic mask had replaced the bewilderment. She threw him an innocent look from under her eyelashes.

"Your sand was geatting dry. And you were probably getting thirsty."

Temari's low chuckle broke her control and laughter bubbled up from her chest. Gaara moved away, probably miffed and the thought brought out another round of laughter. Who would have imagined that a day would come when Haruno Sakura would be mocking Sabaku no Gaara with his own sister...

When she had finally calmed down, she took the second bottle, heading towards the redhead, still diligently ignoring the two of them. She settled down next to the boulder he was sitting on, gently tapping the bottle against his leg. "Sorry. Maybe I went a bit far..." she admitted, looking away from him. She wasn't sure yet to which degree she could joke with him or make fun of him. She was trying to open up to him and have him open up to her, so she needed to watch her behavior and reactions when near him. Something brushed her left arm, before passing her neck and other arm. She shivered from the softness of his touch and raised her head, locking gazes with him. She was surprised to see he was wearing a small, satisfied smirk. Glancing at her arms, she found them covered in a muddy mixture.

"Gaara-san!" she cried out with an indignant huff, but he had already left, heading back to his training spot.

Grumbling, she tried wiping herself as best as she could under Gaara's smug stare. Both were oblivious to the half-intrigued, half-amused looks they got from the silent Suna kunoichi.

* * *

_They were there again. Those claws. Sandy brown with blackish veins on it. She couldn't see their owner, but they were unmistakable. So in the end, she would be ripped apart... He would be the one to kill her... How naive she had been, thinking she could try to understand him and even worse, **befriend** him! That plan pretty much blew up in her face, huh? Stupid, careless... The claws twitched and were flying towards her, ready to tear her flesh and dismember her. A silent shriek left her lips and she closed her eyes, preparing herself to the pain and her blood splattering everywhere. What a pathetic way to die... She would disappoint every person that mattered and believed in her... Her shishou, Kakashi-sensei, Naruto... The pain never came. She cracked an eye open. Was he waiting for her to look at him? Would he rather she helplessly watch her own death?_

_The claws were gone, replaced by a man who was turning his back to her. She squinted and recognised him. He wasn't wearing his gourd and his hair was gently swayed by a breeze she could not feel. He seemed so... small and lonely, standing in the darkness, without a trace of his sand to protect him. She tried calling him, but no words left her mouth. However, he had seemed to hear her, for he was slowly turning his head in her direction. His jade eyes locked onto her emeralds with an intense look. She gasped..._

... and jolted her awake. She was panting heavily and her heart was wildly beating in her chest. It was her first dream in which he hadn't tried to kill her, yet it still remained as vivid as the others. In the chaos in her head, one thought dominated the others: what had brought about this change? A soft rustle near the window had her diving her hand under her pillow and clutching her kunai. She glared, ready to behead the intruder, only to find a small slug gently looking up to her.

"Katsuyu-sama." she greeted, releasing the weapon. "Shishou has a message for me, then..."

* * *

_**Like I said, not really liking this chapter here. Too rushed for my taste, not enough development and there are so many other things I would've liked to be able to fit in here. Whatever. I'll do it next time.**_

_**What about you guys, what did you think about this? I'd really appreciate some feedback, if you don't mind reviewing?**_

_**Anyway, thanks for reading and see you for the next chapter (which I'm not sure when I'll finish, since I can't even start it before the beginning of September). Though I can already tell you this story will be 6 chapters long and might have an epilogue. Still considering that...**_

_**Bye. ^_^**_


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